Shimon And DiCaprio Swap Green Plans In Israel

snipshot_d47vf8l9b6t.img_assist_custom.jpg It’s not exactly new news, but when high-profile celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio come all the way to Israel, Israelis tend to talk about it for months. So in a way, Leo's landing in the Holy Land still feels fresh! On a visit with his Israeli model girlfriend Bar Refaeli earlier in March (besides bodyguard brawls with the paparazzi), Leonardo’s visit entailed a meeting with Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres where the two talked green shop. According to BANG:

Shimon told Leonardo about his Peace Valley project - a joint Israeli-Jordanian-Palestinian economic development plan - and Leo spoke about '11th Hour' his documentary on the environment.

The Blood Diamonds star announced filmmaking plans in 2005 and true to his word, is promoting his soon-to-be-released feature-length documentary on the state of the global environment. According to the National Ledger, Leonardo said the film will focus on those who acknowledge global warming, such as Stephen Hawking, Mikhail Gorbachev and Andrew Weil.

Says Leo:

The message won't be diluted by our having to yell over oil-company-funded 'scientists. Why are the advocates of man made global warming so frightened of debate? How weak is the 'proof'?

While meeting with Peres in Israel, Leo learned about the dubious Peace Valley/Peace Canal project that Peres has been promoting in every which way. And it’s not just TreeHugger who noticed this (see Jerusalem Post story here). At any rate, we are happy the dialogue is open and would be pleased if more environmentalist/celebs would stop over in the Middle East. ::BANG